Notes on guide

22 Jan 2012 - First published guide

Introduction

I'm back to mobafire after a long time experiencing several games and generally, well, I'm somewhat drawn to Evelynn, the Widowmaker. Somehow, I feel attracted to the prospects of, well, playing as a ganker while not jungling - a roamer. Rarely do any champion do the prospects of pure roaming, but the ones with a long invis, Twitch and Eve, incapable of jungling well, are the best at roaming.

So, here, I present to you, my Eve build, Where did she go?

Pros and Cons

Pros

One of the greatest Assasin-type champs

50 seconds invis when maxed

Great close range nuker

Complementary skills

Cons

Squishy

Oracle and Vision wards can destroy you easily

Bad early game is common

Mastery Tree

For Eve, I take 21 0 9, focusing on all aspects of AP increase while also decently boosting your AP even if you are low on it early (Sheen, Mobility and Rabbadon).

As Eve, you do not need much of what that the mastery tree of utility offers. The priority is movement speed, every tiny bit goes a long way. Teleporting home has reduced time, does help, although its not that much. Reduced death timer, teleporting home faster, those things happen a lot, so it helps reduce the time used, making every second count.

But the main thing is, you only need 8 points in utility, to get extra MS, which is vital to every assasin.

People run fast? So? You run faster.

Extra gold? Not important, a single point gives 90 gold in 30minutes, 4 points mean 360 in 30minutes, a insignificant amount in the long run. Starting gold? A couple of pots does not help that much.

EXP? Overrided. You can always take over lanes when needed.

CDR, buff duration, spellvamp? Either too little or too much to be worth. There is no point reducing your summoner's spells CD either - You rarely ever spam press flash to escape, it always is up, or it won't be up for a long time.

Where does this points go? Eve doesn't need defence, she just kills too fast to get hit in assasinations, in team fights, she just nukes the most important person after a good distraction.

This is my take.

Every bit of AP counts to a higher chance of killing. 5% increased AP, AP per level, these are the main focuses. Killing off low hp targets is also a good priority.

Now, if calculations proceed, you'll realise Brute Force isn't as good as it makes out, but still its an acceptable mastery. You get to finish your nice tree and do a truck of damage.

Usually in games, Eve either snowballs really hard, or is passively useless. In a sense, you'll have a lot less money in some situations. Each point, each % of AP increases a long way, and brings your kill down.

Since I'm generally doing much more magic damage than physical, even though at one point I may be considered Hybrid, I essentially build Eve as an AP Assasin, in which, I'll build AP.

So, you'll generally build AP items, instead of some hybrid style. I'm not saying Hybrid is bad, but I'll definitely stand by AD Eve is not good. Any old timer can tell you that Eve with stun is a monster to deal with. Hybrid styles are fine by me, but unrecomended in situations where everyone's defence is high enough, unable to breach it.

Rune build

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greater seal of replenishment

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This build enforces most damage for an AP nuker, yet has some utility in the form of CD and mana regen, thus making you an all rounder, and helps greatly.

Note : You do not need much defence stats. Basic health items can easily get you out alive, just note that 1.5 seconds fade time is exactly how long you usually take to escape.

Skill sequence

Skills Description
This is an important part to know. I once met an Eve that doesn't know what are the cons of her invisibility, some vital points in her skills etc. Thats why this section is here. To help you guys with the skill descriptions.

Ability Sequence

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

I maxed out Ravage, then 3 points in Shadow Walk earliest as I can while not compromising the fact that I should have all 3 skills at level 3.

First note : Ravage = Hate spike

The shorter the fight, the better Ravage is compared to Hate spike. Tested out in calculations, Ravage does slightly less damage, but reduces defensive stats. Hate spike is for prolonged assasinations.

By prolonged, I mean up to 5 seconds. Beyond that, it is really humilating to watch. Assasinations do not last long. If you assasinate in the same duration as a teamfight, you will tend to lose out a lot. 10 seconds to kill a target in a single run is really too long, and your chances to kill is minimal if you decide to drag the time. Plus the fact that Eve has mana problems, making her hard to play juggling the effectiveness of your ganks.

Now, for the descriptions.

This is undoubtly an unknown skill within several players in League of Legends. At one point in time, this was basically a great skill (used to reduce damage from ALL creeps), but now it may not be as known, but it does help a little in laning. Note that it doesn't really corresspond to Eve besides the fact that she initiates an assasination (or does it on her own), but it may help during early stages of assasinations, where you need quite a bit of help to pull off a successful gank.

Hate Spike is well known for its spammage ability and works well with Sheen. It acts as an alternative to normal attacking early and late game, but as soon as Sheen appears, or indeed Lich Bane, normal attacks are useful, but should be done on a moderate basis.

It hits 2 targets, and used to break Shadow Walk, you can slow 2 targets as well, with the same movement speed debuff.

Sometimes, it pays to time your casts, instead of blindly spamming. Saving a little mana for a Ravage or a Shadow Walk may be more beneficial, and it also allows enough for Sheen procs.

I take it at level 3 and max it when I feel that Shadow Walk lasts long enough, after maxing Ravage.

Invisibility for a really long time, up to 50 seconds. The most significant of all Eve skills, marking her unqiue along with Twitch. However, despite the possibilities, Shadow Walk has its flaws :

During the fade time, you still can get struck down easily by nukers

Anyone with Damage Over Time (DoT) can reset your fade time. Teemo/Gangplank in particular will irk you

If someone with Oracle or Vision wards see you, you have no way of telling, especially if they are in a bush

A key skill of Eve, undermined but thats the skill that nukes the most, a single second of severe pain. 1:1 AP ratio, 320 flat damage at maxed level, it has the potential to reach over 700 damage. The defense reduction also makes it why you should really initiate with it early than later in a fight. A must have for every Eve by mid game.

This skill is the reason why Eve players tend to live after a successful assasination even if severe backup arrives. Great to chase down enemies, great to run, and it REFRESHES after every single kill or assist. Not to mention the massive heal EVEN IF YOU JUST HIT ONCE. Its really worth to add, and its really worth to note that it is one of the best suited ults in the game.

Core item build

These items suits Eve really well. Read for yourself, test for yourself, play for yourself, you'll notice they are the core for practically all Eve builds.

So what are they?

Boots of Mobility

This item is mainly known for its usefulness at roaming. Enhanced movement 5 basically means that you get 50 base MS + 20 X the number, which means you get 150 MS from this boots in general. Otherwise, it acts purely as any other boots in movement speed increase.

Sheen

This is your greatest early game item. It suits with your skills in general, and its MASSIVELY impactful on your Hate Spike

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Guinsoo's Rageblade

A good item early game, suiting well with the need to autoattack and the need to spam spells. Also, the AD boost helps Sheen early, the AP boost helps Lich Bane late.

Rabadon's Deathcap

The ultimate item of ALL AP builds, providing a great chance to become massively painful with just 1140 gold for a recipe.

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Lich Bane

It mainly sucks upgrading it early, seeing that its weaker before and after rushing Guinsoo's Rageblade. Only after Needlessly Large Rod is it worth it, but rushing Rabbadon's deathcap makes it truely shine.

What comes next

The following 3 chapters are all different, each owning only one of a good item in the chapter. The catagories are : Sustain, Utility and Damage, and will be according to name order.

Always remember : Your items shouldn't be fixed. For example if you always follow a epic damage nuker build, you'll lack in survivalbility, and the opponent team places tons of Vision Ward. Still gonna go for epic damage? By the time you reach that bush, you're dead.

My advice, adapt to the situation after your core build, in desperate situations, you may even be forced to deviate from your build.

Luxury Items - Survivalbility

One of the greatest advice my friend, myfoot1, ever gave me is this : If you die, you can't do any damage at all. This items here maximizes, or at least gives you a higher chance, at surviving, so you can deal even more damage to your foes.

Banshee's Veil is traditionally the suited item to survive combo casters like Brand or just prevent yourself from dying with one of the highest survival in magic damage item that basically helps in the whole game.

Doran's Ring stackage is a good way of having 3 main things, Survivalbility, AP, and mana regen. Despite all that, Doran Ring's main interest to player is the fact that you can survive WAYY better, seeing you don't get much health items as Eve. 15 AP and some mana regen cannot really beat that much.

Eleisa's Miracle is one understated item, but tenacity is well in its ways. It upgrades from a philosopher's stone, thus, the gold cost can be refunded when you sell this back, plus health and mana regen does help in the early stages of Eve.

Force of Nature, or FoN, as it is well known by, has 2 main key components for Eve players : Flat movement speed and high MR. The regeneration is also quite good, and works well especially if you build some health items.

Frozen Heart does quite well in the defence department as well. As one of the highest armor items in game, it provides a solid defence to physical damage, plus the 500 mana and CDR is no small deal.

Guardian Angel is regarded as one of the better items in the game - a second life is so good to help out. However, you should make sure that your team doesn't abandon you, no matter by force or by luck, you may be in big trouble otherwise.

Player's mentality is tending to NOT aim GA players, since they'll survive and thus fight back. Depending on your luck, you may become an untargetable assasin.

Moonflair Spellblade is one of the only tenacity items in the game. For Eve, she needs the roaming power of Mobility, so tenacity goes best to this or Eleisa's Miracle

Rod of Ages is only if rushed early, something Eve usually can't do. Despite that, it gives quite a bit of HP and MP, plus a passive that works really well in helping to keep your mana up.

Zhonya's Hourglass is well known for the fact that you become invulnerable for seconds, to drag time while backup arrives. I'm not sure if this works, but, in theory, using Zhonya after activation of Shadow Walk does work. Please PM me to confirm.

Luxury Items - Utility

Sometimes, you wish for a little something to help you on your fights. Be it mana, CDR, boosters, et cetra, it is useful to have these little items to help you on your way.

Archangel's Staff is a good item, but it only shines when you stack them. As Eve, there is much more utility than usefulness does this item bring - Sustaining your mana costs early.

Chalice of Harmony does work early, providing good mana regen, to counter your high costs of mana. The magic resist is also good against magic damage dealers early on.

Hextech Gunblade has an all in one style - It has AP, AD, Spellvamp, Lifesteal AND a slow. Early on, the AD and lifesteal shines, later, the AP and Spellvamp follows up. The slow is universally a great boost, and does 300 flat damage to a single target for a better slow during a chase.

Rylai is am all rounder great item - It has AP, HP AND a slow. The slow is the most important to Eve, to make sure your kill doesn't ever get away, but the HP also works really well in keeping you alive.

Luxury Items - Damage

To deal damage is your main priority. To achieve maximum damage, these items bring about the best in damage you can have.

Deathfire's Grasp is unique - Like Madred's Bloodrazors, it does damage in %, build for AP Nukers as another skill. Great against teams with more than 2 Tanky DPS/Tanks

Haunting Guise is quite useful - Admitingly, its underused, but for a cheap cost, it gives HP, AP AND MPen! Its great for early games, especially if you are broke.

Mejai's Soulstealer is generally a good item, even if you are unable to mantain maximum stacks. You are bound to mantain over 8 stacks, in which you get around 80 AP and costs as much as an early game item. Either get it early, or ignore it.

Morello's Evil Tome is one of the greatest undermined items in LoL. It provides 80 AP, great mana regen, 25% CDR and yet it is only 2k+. It may be undermined by better items like rabbadon's deathcap or spell items like deathfire's grasp, but it still is a great item to play on Eve.

Void Staff is the main reason why nobody actually lives up against you. When you get it, you'll be a monster to reckon with, only at the cost of slightly above 2k

Gameplay - Early stages

Now this is the part that separates a good Eve from a bad one. Eve, naturally, is a great roamer, yet doesn't work well in the jungle. So this is where, Roamer Eve comes in.

Before Roam (Lvl 1-3)

If your team has no jungler, you may want to op for starting TRIPLE bottom gank, or DOUBLE mid gank. These options are highly strong and works quite well early on, but it must be used to perfect timing of your Shadow Walk One wrong move, you may just die a horrendous death, but one right move, brings a kill or at least helps your teammate to easier harm your opponent due to either lower EXP or lower HP.

If your team has a jungler, the above stated methods still work, but with less effect. For a start, if you fail, you compromise both yourself and the jungler. Duo mid works fine, but the main thing is, you MUST reach level 3 ASAP.

Eve in lane generally sucks. In lane, the best thing that can happen is someone suddenly loses control of his mouse and right clicks the opponent base while you are waiting close by. That rarely happens. The best you can do is leech exp from your teammate and hope no one targets you, as your time is inevitably spent hiding in the brush or not doing much in general.

Preferably, your lane partner should be someone who can hold quite well by himself, like a far range AD carry or AP Caster or even a Tanky DPS. Remember, he would be at a disadvantage : Earlier stages he wouldn't have the exp of a solo laner, and may be same or lower level than the opponent solo laner.

Gameplay - The Roamer

Remember the feeling of fear, where you are scared that Lee Sin or Skarner or practically any solid ganker coming in your face, before you even gotten a ward? Then seeing that particular person in the lane furthest from you? Think again.

Roamer Eve's has the greatest potential to gank, with invisibility and speed. Similar to junglers, Eve is useless out of ganks. Unlike junglers, Eve has no backup plans if Eve fails jungle. The best thing you can do is gank again.

But Roamer Eve has much more potential than most junglers and roamers. As perma ganker, that keeps your opponents scared. At the same time, having all lanes solo means more EXP in general (Even the one where you left lane), as well as the fact that double the gank is much harder to escape from. Not to mention the fact that practically everyone overpushes, seeing that they outnumber your team in lane, so it makes for a great counter.

There is no success formula to ganks, besides perfect timing, good engagement and comparable fights. Most of all, you should make sure that you do have assistence early on in ganks, and having the ability to nuke down targets later on.

Gameplay - The aftermath

If your game drags on to late game, this is where your usefulness diminish. Not many people know that, but ganking/stalking a solitary good target is really hard, especially if they have a reliable CC like Nasus's Wither or Veigar's Event Horizon.

My suggestion, be on the constant lookout for solo targets, and either CHARGE IN or STALK AROUND to find potential opponents. Your main purpose is to force a target that is actually better than you in a teamfight to get out for the time being, ensuring the teamfight is slightly easier. Even if you do not kill, do not fret, just stay alive and prepare for another gank.

Finally, in teamfights, which are inevitable you have no choice but to participate and force targets out. ALWAYSTARGET the SQUISHY yet PAINFUL target. It helps if you and your team PRIORITISETARGETS before the actual battle, and if you all understand each and every role. What use would the Tank be in front whacking the DPS to death, when your team gets annahilated? While your team distracts, go in for the kill on those fragiles. Having defensive and offensive in your team is great : You can always retreat and you can always chase.

Always remember : You may not be the most important player on your team, but you can be when you play well.

A special note on Dominion

Evelynn works really well in Dominion, being one of the fastest early, and a great stealer of points. Not to mention the fact that nobody actually has a whole team stick unless either team is totally pwning the other's face.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!